Irvine Mayor Steve Choi missed making the top two in yesterday’s 2016 Primary Election in the 68th Assembly District when he was edged out by a fellow Republican, former Anaheim City Councilman Harry Sidhu. Choi tallied a total of 13,532 votes while Sidhu netted 14,247 votes, according to the O.C. Registrar of Voters.

The top vote-getter was a Democrat, Sean Jay Panahi, who received 22,965 votes. Panahi and Sidhu will now face off again in the November General Election. Continue reading→

Irvine has officially repealed Larry Agran’s living wage ordinance 4 to 1, according to Irvine Finance Commissioner Allan Bartlett’s Facebook page. The only vote in support of the living wage ordinance came from liberal Irvine City Councilwoman Beth Krom.

GOP consultant Jon Fleischman had this to say about the repeal: “It will take many, many years to undo the damage that Larry Agran and his far-left liberal majority did on the Irvine City Council over a decade of ruling the city. The fact that Irvine is the ONLY city in all of Orange County with a goofy “living wage” law should say something. Kudos to the Republican supermajority in Irvine for laboring here.” Continue reading→

Longtime Irvine Councilman Larry Agran and his sidekicks Mary Ann Gaido and Melissa Fox tried to fool the voters of Irvine into thinking that the over-development of their community was somehow the fault of the current Irvine City Council majority. Well it didn’t work, in great part because of the brilliant Agran Audit campaign, which gave the people of Irvine access to the OC Great Park audit information which was a stunning indictment of Agran’s wasteful ways.

The Republican majority on the Irvine City Council was bolstered by the addition of conservative Lynn Schott, who turned out to be the top vote-getter on Nov. 4. Councilman Jeff Lalloway also won, in a squeaker, over Fox. The dreadful Agran came in almost last – a spot that was reserved for Evan Chemers, who has now lost badly in two unsuccessful City Council campaigns. Continue reading→

Newly obtained evidence reveals Larry Agran–the Irvine political boss who wrecked the Great Park plan by diverting millions of dollars to his pals in no bid contracts and lost control of the city in the 2012 elections–is hoping his November campaign slate with Melissa Fox and Mary Ann Gaido will retake power based on a lie, according to the OC Weekly, which also reported that:

Worse for the dwindling number of residents still clinging to hope that Agran can be an honest politician is this alarming fact: At the same time, he, Gaido and Fox are advocating a moratorium on building, they are privately winking otherwise at wealthy real estate developers in exchange for campaign contributions.

Pam Sapetto is a highly successful, real estate developer lobbyist. In her promotional materials, Sapetto boasts that she is responsible for “over 60 million square feet of commercial and industrial development and over 45,000 residential units” mostly in Irvine and approved while Agran presided. She is tied to traffic-increasing projects such as Park Place, Irvine Spectrum, Jamboree Research Center, University Research Park, Irvine Technology Center, Colton Plaza, Koll Center, Jamboree Center, Irvine Plaza and Jeffrey Office Park. Continue reading→

Yesterday in my mailbox I received another campaign mailer from Larry Agran, Mary Ann Gaido and Melissa Fox. I am never shocked any more by their dishonest campaign efforts. They continue to state they are for slow growth and now they have taken a pledge, not offered to other candidates, by the way, to pledge no more growth, and they want a moratorium on growth .

However, did you know this past month, at the Irvine Planning commission, where most development projects are approved, that Mrs Gaido voted for a large housing project in South Irvine, near the 133 and just this past Thursday, Mrs Gaido, voted for a high density apartment complex? Continue reading→

General Election, November, 2014:

Local Elections

Note: Choi has done a fantastic job leading the Irvine City Council majority. The OC Register endorsed Choi again this year, writing that “Under Mr. Choi’s leadership, the council has done much to further long-awaited progress in the city. He has been a responsible steward of the city’s finances and he has begun to fulfill a longstanding promise past mayors and councils have not lived up to: building the Great Park.” Click here to see Choi’s other endorsements, which are significant.Continue reading→

Here’s the start of a great compilation of docs that discuss soon-to-be-former Irvine Councilman (and ex-Mayor and ex-Great Park Chairman) Larry Agran’s corruption, cronyism and malfeasance at Irvine’s Great Park: AgranAudit.com. Agran made over $200 million disappear.

The domain is registered by a proxy service, so it’s owner is unknown. H/T to Allan Bartlett and Al Tello. Continue reading→

Agran and Fox are running as a slate. Schott is looking to team up with the Council majority, which includes Lalloway, and Even Chemers is not allied with anyone. He is making his second run for the Council after losing previously in 2012., with 10.7% of the vote, according to Smart Voter. Schott got 18.9% of the vote in that same election, just missing victory by about 1% of the vote. Continue reading→

Irvine can replace the union-hostaged OC Fire Authority

Irvine Councilmembers Jeff Lalloway and Christina Shea have just been handed a great opportunity to turn lemons into lemonade and prove that their city can actually run something like a business. With the Great Park debacle not taking any of the DA’s time but consuming headlines, reputations and, hopefully, Larry Agran’s re-election campaign (Beth Krom will not be running for Mayor), this hit last week on Irvine certainly wasn’t welcome:

Per the OC Register on 8/7: An Orange County Superior Court judge has ruled against the Orange County Fire Authority’s plan to return millions of dollars to cities that overpaid for firefighting service, dealing a blow to the agency’s efforts to appease communities that have threatened to leave the fire authority if they aren’t reimbursed. Judge William D. Claster’s ruling backs county leaders’ efforts to prevent the fire authority from paying millions to Irvine, Laguna Woods, Rancho Santa Margarita, San Juan Capistrano and the county, who for years have been overcharged for their fire services. The county argued that the proposed payments to the members would have amounted to a gift of public funds.

Will Lynn Schott join her colleagues on the Irvine City Council this November?

Now that the Open Primary Election is over it is time to have a look at the upcoming November General Election. In Irvine, the November 4, 2014 Election will be held to elect a Mayor and two members of the City Council. The Irvine Mayor serves a term of two years, while City Councilmembers each serve a term of four years. The Mayor and City Councilmembers may serve no more than two full consecutive terms. The terms of the Councilmembers are staggered, according to the Irvine City Clerk.

Mayor Choi should have no problem earning re-election given that his Council majority, which includes Lalloway and Shea, has done such a great job over the past two years. Since they took control of Irvine they stopped the ridiculous public relations contracts at the Great Park and have even been able to make headway on the city’s pension liability. Their success will make it very difficult for their opponents, Agran and Krom, to field much opposition in November. Continue reading→